Published : 28 Nov 2025, 01:13 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 02:48 PM
Pope Leo lamented that the world was seeing an unusual amount of bloody conflicts, warning on Thursday during his first trip outside Italy as the Catholic leader that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk.
In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church, Leo, the first US pope, said the world was being destabilised by "ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace".
He told political leaders in Turkey, where he is visiting until Sunday, that the world was experiencing "a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fuelled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power".
"We must in no way give in to this," he pleaded. "The future of humanity is at stake."
